According to officials, shortly after taking off from a small airport in Connecticut on Thursday morning, a small plane crashed, killing all four people on board.
The plane took off from Robertson Airport shortly before 10 a.m. and crashed into the building of the Trumpf Inc. manufacturing company, Farmington Police Lt. Tim Mackenzie said.
“It looks like there was a mechanical failure during takeoff that led to the accident behind us,” he said.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna Citation 560X was en route to Der County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina. According to Mackenzie, two pilots and two passengers were killed. Their names are not disclosed immediately.
According to Governor Ned Lamont, a plane crash inside the Trumpf building caused a chemical fire. According to officials, everyone who was in the building was found, and two employees were injured, which, according to company officials, were not serious.
Authorities are trying to identify the dead on the plane, whose bodies protruded from the building or were scattered on the lawn outside, Lamont said.
“It was just a fireball, an explosion, and then a chemical fire,” he said.
Farmington is located in central Connecticut, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the state capital Hartford.
Mackenzie said the intense fire burned for more than 20 minutes.
Caleb Weihaus, who works near the crash site, said he ran to the scene after hearing a loud explosion and saw black smoke billow from the Trumpf building.
“I ran straight to him to see if I could help. I came as close as possible, but the flames were very hot, and the fire only intensified, “he told WTIC-TV.